Radio access network statistics at a glance
Radio access network statistics show a market that is still expanding in scale while the technology mix shifts underneath it. The strongest signal in the dataset is not a single growth number but the contrast between fast-rising 5G demand, declining legacy generations, and a highly concentrated vendor market.
Quick take
- Global mobile subscriptions reached 8.66 billion in 2024 and are forecast to reach 9.5 billion by 2031 (Ericsson Mobility Report key figures).
- 5G subscriptions were 2.29 billion in 2024 and are forecast to reach 6.41 billion by 2031 (Ericsson Mobility Report key figures).
- LTE subscriptions were 4.94 billion in 2024 and are forecast to fall to 2.32 billion by 2031 (Ericsson Mobility Report key figures).
- Five vendors controlled 95.1% of the global RAN equipment market in 2023, up from 94.6% in 2022 (Omdia Market Landscape: RAN Vendors 2024).
- The top three RAN vendors captured 75.1% of market revenue in 2023, up from 74.9% in 2022 (Omdia Market Landscape: RAN Vendors 2024).
Contents
- How the RAN market is changing
- The subscription mix behind the upgrade cycle
- Traffic growth and what it implies for radios
- Regional concentration in subscriptions and traffic
- Vendor concentration in the equipment market
- What the FWA data says about RAN demand
- Reading the numbers as a planning guide
How the RAN market is changing
Radio access network statistics are easiest to understand when you separate the user base from the technology layer. The user base is still growing, but the technology layer is changing much faster. That means the market is not simply adding capacity. It is also replacing older radio generations, shifting traffic to newer air interfaces, and concentrating spend among a smaller group of suppliers.
A useful starting point is the global mobile base. Worldwide mobile subscriptions were 8.66 billion in 2024 and are forecast to reach 9.5 billion by 2031 (Ericsson Mobility Report key figures). That increase matters because every additional connection has to be served by some combination of macro coverage, indoor systems, fixed wireless access, or hybrid radio infrastructure. Even when growth is modest in percentage terms, the absolute scale keeps the RAN installed base under pressure to expand and refresh.
At the same time, the legacy mix is thinning. GSM/EDGE-only subscriptions were 870 million in 2024 and are forecast to fall to 350 million by 2031 (Ericsson Mobility Report key figures). WCDMA/HSPA subscriptions were 550 million in 2024 and are forecast to fall to 200 million by 2031 (Ericsson Mobility Report key figures). LTE is still enormous, at 4.94 billion subscriptions in 2024, but it is also forecast to fall to 2.32 billion by 2031 as the market moves onward (Ericsson Mobility Report key figures).
That shift is important because it shows that RAN demand is not just about growth in subscribers. It is also about migration. Networks have to support old and new generations in parallel while the migration is incomplete.
The subscription mix behind the upgrade cycle
One of the clearest ways to read radio access network statistics is to compare legacy, current, and next-generation subscription counts side by side. The table below highlights the transition that is already underway.
| Technology | 2024 subscriptions | 2031 forecast | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|
| GSM/EDGE-only | 870 million | 350 million | Decline (Ericsson Mobility Report key figures) |
| WCDMA/HSPA | 550 million | 200 million | Decline (Ericsson Mobility Report key figures) |
| LTE | 4.94 billion | 2.32 billion | Decline (Ericsson Mobility Report key figures) |
| 5G | 2.29 billion | 6.41 billion | Growth (Ericsson Mobility Report key figures) |
| 5G standalone | 1.27 billion | 4.14 billion | Growth (Ericsson Mobility Report key figures) |
| 6G | 0 | 180 million | Early emergence (Ericsson Mobility Report key figures) |
The table makes the upgrade cycle plain. The base is still dominated by LTE in 2024, but 5G is the growth engine. 5G standalone is especially notable because it already accounts for more than half of 5G subscriptions in the 2024 figure set, with 1.27 billion subscriptions versus 2.29 billion total 5G subscriptions (Ericsson Mobility Report key figures). That suggests the ecosystem is not merely adding non-standalone coverage. It is also pushing toward a more native 5G architecture.
The long-range 6G number is worth reading carefully. 6G subscriptions were 0 in 2024 and are forecast to reach 180 million by 2031 (Ericsson Mobility Report key figures). That is not a mainstream installed base yet, but it is enough to show that planning horizons in the radio layer now extend beyond the current 5G cycle.
What this means operationally
The practical implication is that RAN planning must cover three layers at once. First, it must keep legacy networks alive long enough to serve remaining subscribers. Second, it must expand 5G capacity and migration support. Third, it must begin preparing for the first 6G deployments without overcommitting to a premature replacement cycle.
That is why the same network can face both modernization and maintenance pressure. A shrinking 2G or 3G base does not automatically lower complexity if the remaining users are geographically or operationally hard to migrate. Meanwhile, the rising 5G base adds new spectrum, backhaul, and densification demands.
Traffic growth and what it implies for radios
Subscription counts only tell part of the story. Traffic volumes are often the sharper indicator of how hard the radio layer is working. The 2024 traffic numbers show that data load is not only rising, it is becoming more concentrated in specific device classes and access patterns.
Smartphone data traffic was 19 GB per month in 2024 and is forecast to reach 39 GB per month by 2031 (Ericsson Mobility Report key figures). Mobile PC data traffic was 26 GB per month in 2024 and is forecast to reach 40 GB per month by 2031 (Ericsson Mobility Report key figures). Tablet data traffic was 15 GB per month in 2024 and is forecast to reach 29 GB per month by 2031 (Ericsson Mobility Report key figures).
The aggregate numbers are larger still. Total mobile data traffic was 123 EB per month in 2024 and is forecast to reach 310 EB per month by 2031 (Ericsson Mobility Report key figures). Total mobile network traffic was 164 EB per month in 2024 and is forecast to reach 482 EB per month by 2031 (Ericsson Mobility Report key figures). Total fixed data traffic was 330 EB per month in 2024 and is forecast to reach 710 EB per month by 2031 (Ericsson Mobility Report key figures).
The traffic split that matters
A few line items are especially useful for planning.
- Smartphone traffic accounted for 121 EB per month in 2024 and is forecast to reach 304 EB per month by 2031 (Ericsson Mobility Report key figures).
- Mobile PC and router traffic was 1.2 EB per month in 2024 and is forecast to reach 2.7 EB per month by 2031 (Ericsson Mobility Report key figures).
- Tablet traffic was 1.0 EB per month in 2024 and is forecast to reach 2.5 EB per month by 2031 (Ericsson Mobility Report key figures).
- FWA traffic was 41 EB per month in 2024 and is forecast to reach 174 EB per month by 2031 (Ericsson Mobility Report key figures).
The first thing to notice is how dominant smartphone traffic remains. Smartphone traffic alone was 121 EB per month in 2024, almost the entirety of the 123 EB per month total mobile data traffic figure listed in the dataset (Ericsson Mobility Report key figures). The second thing to notice is the scale of FWA. At 41 EB per month in 2024, fixed wireless access already contributes a large share of the mobile-side traffic profile and is forecast to grow sharply to 174 EB per month by 2031 (Ericsson Mobility Report key figures).
That combination matters because RAN capacity planning is no longer only about handset experience. It also has to support home broadband substitution, branch connectivity, enterprise links, and other usage patterns that can be heavier or more persistent than consumer handset traffic.
Regional concentration in subscriptions and traffic
Regional data makes the network picture more concrete. The subscription base is distributed unevenly, and so is the traffic load. That unevenness matters for equipment placement, spectrum use, and upgrade priority.
| Region | Mobile subscriptions in 2024 | 5G subscriptions in 2024 | Total mobile data traffic in 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| North America | 450 million | 316 million | 8.7 EB per month (Ericsson Mobility Report key figures) |
| Latin America | 730 million | 63 million | 6.9 EB per month (Ericsson Mobility Report key figures) |
| Western Europe | 550 million | 227 million | 10 EB per month (Ericsson Mobility Report key figures) |
| Central and Eastern Europe | 560 million | 30 million | not listed |
| North East Asia | 2.26 billion | 1.178 billion | not listed |
| China | 1.79 billion | 1.014 billion | not listed |
| South East Asia and Oceania | 1.18 billion | 111 million | not listed |
| India, Nepal and Bhutan | 1.19 billion | 290 million | 24 EB per month (Ericsson Mobility Report key figures) |
| Middle East and North Africa | 740 million | 57 million | not listed |
| Gulf Cooperation Council countries | 81 million | 37 million | not listed |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | 1.0 billion | 11 million | 2.3 EB per month (Ericsson Mobility Report key figures) |
The table shows that the same subscription volume can imply very different deployment realities. North East Asia had 2.26 billion mobile subscriptions in 2024, with 1.178 billion of them on 5G (Ericsson Mobility Report key figures). China alone had 1.79 billion mobile subscriptions and 1.014 billion 5G subscriptions in 2024 (Ericsson Mobility Report key figures). India, Nepal and Bhutan had 1.19 billion mobile subscriptions and 290 million 5G subscriptions in 2024, while also generating 24 EB per month of total mobile data traffic (Ericsson Mobility Report key figures).
The traffic figures underscore another point. India, Nepal and Bhutan generated 24 EB per month of total mobile data traffic in 2024, which is higher than the listed total mobile data traffic for North America, Latin America, and Western Europe in the same dataset slice (Ericsson Mobility Report key figures). That makes the region especially relevant when evaluating where radio capacity pressure is likely to intensify.
Sub-Saharan Africa is the opposite kind of signal. It had 1.0 billion mobile subscriptions in 2024 but only 11 million 5G subscriptions and 2.3 EB per month of total mobile data traffic (Ericsson Mobility Report key figures). That gap between total connectivity scale and 5G adoption suggests a very different deployment profile than the most advanced markets.
Vendor concentration in the equipment market
The supplier side of the market is unusually concentrated. That concentration is one of the most important radio access network statistics because it shapes pricing power, product roadmaps, and procurement leverage.
In 2023, five vendors controlled 95.1% of the global RAN equipment market, up from 94.6% in 2022 (Omdia Market Landscape: RAN Vendors 2024). The top three RAN vendors captured 75.1% of market revenue in 2023, up from 74.9% in 2022 (Omdia Market Landscape: RAN Vendors 2024).
That is a stable but very high level of concentration. It means the market is not merely competitive in a broad sense. It is structurally narrow at the top. For buyers, that can limit substitution options. For vendors, it can intensify the value of scale, installed base strength, and product breadth.
A few company-level figures in the dataset help show how the market is translating into revenue and operational results. Ericsson’s Networks segment reported SEK 158.2 billion in net sales in 2024 and an adjusted EBITA margin of 17.5% in 2024 (Ericsson Annual Report 2024). Ericsson reported SEK 72.9 billion in sales in Q4 2024, with SEK 33.7 billion in adjusted gross income, a Networks adjusted gross margin of 49.1%, and an adjusted Group gross margin of 46.3% (Ericsson fourth quarter results and full-year results 2024). Nokia won 18,000 additional base station sites on a net basis since the start of 2024 (Nokia Corporation Financial Report for Q4 and full year 2024).
Those figures do not by themselves describe the whole market, but they do show a commercial environment in which scale and execution matter. The same concentration that limits the field also raises the stakes for each incremental win.
What the FWA data says about RAN demand
Fixed Wireless Access deserves a separate look because it changes how radio access network demand shows up in practice. It is not just a mobile use case. It also acts as a substitute for wired broadband in some locations and as an added revenue layer for operators.
About 300 communications service providers globally offered 5G services in 2024, and about 50 of those CSPs had launched 5G standalone in 2024 (Ericsson Mobility Report June 2024 press release). About 241 of 310 surveyed operators offered FWA services in April 2024 (Ericsson Mobility Report June 2024 press release). An updated Ericsson study found that 81% of service-provider retail packages included an FWA offering in 2024 (Ericsson FWA outlook). In October 2024, 79% of surveyed service providers had adopted FWA overall, 54% of that total had deployed it over 5G, and 43% had speed-based plans (Ericsson FWA outlook).
This is a strong adoption signal. It suggests FWA is no longer a side experiment. It is a mainstream package component for many providers.
The location data makes the point even more concrete. Fixed Wireless Access reached around 9 million connected business and residential locations across the US in Q1 2024 (Ericsson Mobility Report North America). That is an installed base large enough to matter in deployment planning, especially where operators are balancing mobile coverage expansion against residential broadband substitution.
The traffic forecast reinforces the point. FWA traffic was 41 EB per month in 2024 and is forecast to reach 174 EB per month by 2031 (Ericsson Mobility Report key figures). That is a materially different load profile from a simple handset-only network. It implies a need for capacity that can sustain broader, more continuous demand.
Reading the numbers as a planning guide
The most useful way to read radio access network statistics is to connect three trends. The first is subscriber migration from legacy networks into 5G. The second is traffic growth, especially on smartphone and FWA paths. The third is market concentration among a very small group of equipment suppliers.
Put together, the dataset points to a network environment that is simultaneously expanding and rationalizing. Legacy systems are shrinking but not disappearing quickly. 5G is scaling fast enough to become the dominant growth platform. FWA is moving from a niche offering to a material traffic engine. And the vendor base remains tight enough that market structure itself is a strategic variable.
A final set of numbers helps summarize the directional change. Global 5G subscriptions were expected to reach almost 2.3 billion by the end of 2024, equal to 25% of all global mobile subscriptions (Ericsson Mobility Report November 2024 press release). Global mobile network data traffic was projected to grow almost 200% between 2024 and the end of 2030 (Ericsson Mobility Report November 2024 press release). Global 5G subscriptions were forecast to reach 6.3 billion by the end of 2030 (Ericsson Mobility Report November 2024 press release). 60% of 2030 5G subscriptions were expected to be 5G standalone (Ericsson Mobility Report November 2024 press release). 5G was expected to account for 80% of mobile data traffic by 2030 (Ericsson Mobility Report November 2024 press release).
Those figures describe the direction of travel. The RAN layer is not standing still. It is moving toward higher 5G penetration, larger traffic loads, stronger FWA involvement, and a supplier market where the leading names continue to hold most of the value.